Anchor



April 14, 1970 T. s, BOW ERS ANCHOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1968 I INVENTOR. THOMAS s. BOWERS BY 9/; Q PM ATTORNEY April 14, 1970 T. s. BOWERS ANCHOR Filed Oct. 18, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 T FIG. 3 BY 9mm W ATTORNEY l V14, 1970 T. s. BOWERS 3,505,969

' ANCHOR Filed Oct. 1 8, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY United States 3,505,969 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 3,505,969 ANCHOR Thomas S. Bowers, Toledo, Ohio (3366 Mount Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, Calif. 94549) Filed Oct. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 768,778

Int. Cl. B63b 21/38 US. Cl. 114-208 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure illustrates an anchor for boats and ships which comprises three basic parts: a base, a shank and a pair of flukes. The three basic parts are all pivoted with respect to each other (with a lost motion pivotal connection between two of the parts) so that once the anchor reaches sea bottom and the anchor line lifts one end of the shank, the other end of the shank digs into the sea bottom to restrain movement while the pivotal connection between the shank and the flukes positively forces the flukes downwardly into the sea bottom. The base is U-shaped to receive the shank so that the base sinks somewhat into the hole dug by the shank and the sea bottom dug by the shank is forced against the base to further restrain movement of the anchor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The field of this invention is anchors for boats and ships of all kinds. For example, anchors for small sail boats or yachts as well as anchorsfor huge ocean going vessels are fields within which the invention may be used. Furthermore, the field of the invention is anchors wherein means is pivoted for digging into the sea bottomto provide a holding force for the anchor rather than relying on the weight of the anchor itself.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Many prior anchors disclose flukes which are pivoted in some manner with respect to the anchor shank. Furthermore, the Galloway patents (2,798,447 and 2,959, 145) show a combination of a base, shank, and fluke member all pivoted with respect to each other so that the flukes pivot downwardly upon upward movement of one end of the shank. However, the arrangement of the three pivots in the Galloway patents is such that positive digging is not insured by a force being applied to the anchor line (this is readily apparent since the latter Galloway patent provides crown plates as a means to direct the flukes into the sea bottom). Furthermore, the shank of the Galloway patents and other prior art is not used to provide resistance to dragging of the anchor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention utilizes the same three basic elements: a base member, a shank member and fluke means as the prior art but pivotally connects the three elements in a manner to insure positive digging action and permit other advantages. The invention involves theprovision of a scoop or digging means on the remote end of the shank so that the force applied on the anchor line causes the shank'to pivot with respect to the base and digthe scoop into the sea bottom. Furthermore, the shank is operatively connected to the flukes so that such movement will also positivelydirect the flukes downwardly into the sea bottom. The opposed action of the scoop dig ging into the ground on the one hand and the flukes digging into the ground on the other positively insures the desired holding effect. Additionally, the base member is U-shaped to receive the shank and the shank is open on the digging end so that sea bottom dug by the shank is thrown against the base member resistance wall and the base member itself sinks into the sea bottom to further restrain movement of the anchor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an anchor showing one embodiment of this invention with the shank and the flukes pivoted at a small angle with respect to the base;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the anchor shown in FIG. 1 with the anchor in its closed, single plane position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 illustrating the anchor resting on the sea bottom with the shank scoop and flukes dug into the ground;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an anchor illustrating another embodiment of this invention again with the shank and flukes pivoted at a small angle with respect to the base;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the anchor of FIG. 4 illustrating the anchor in its closed, single plane position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the anchor of FIG. 4 illustrating the anchor resting on the sea bottom with the shank scoop and flukes dug into the ground.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS First embodiment thickness is greater at the base end and progressively decrease as the leg end of the base is approached.

The shank 12 is an elongated, oblong member having an open center portion between two parallel legs 18 and 20. One end of the shank 12 has an aperture 22 through which extends a loop of a rope or other suitable anchor line 24.

The other end of the shank 12 is provided with a scooplike digging means. More particularly, on both sides of such shank end a plurality of teeth 26 are cut from the shank. While this shank end is a little thicker than the end to which the anchor line is attached, it should be noted that the thickness of the shank is equal to or less than the thickness of the base member so as to be housed within the same.

The shank 12 is mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the base member 10 so that the teeth 26 move through an are adjacent the interior end wall 28 of the base member. To this end, a pair of pins 30 each extend through a leg of the base member and into bored holes in thelegs 18 and 20 of the shank adjacent the scoop end thereof. The pins 30 are secured in the base member by any suitable means, such as a press fit, but fit loosely in the holes in the shank legs to facilitate pivotal movement.

The flukes 14 and 16 are pivotally connected to the outer end of the legs of the base member 10. To accomplish this, the legs have projections 32 which are received in corresponding slots 34 in the fluke members. A pin 36 is secured in each fluke member bridging the slot 34 and extends through an aperture in the projection 32.

The flukes themselves are long slender members pointed at the outer end so that they will pierce the sea bottom when appropriately directed.

An operative connection is provided between the fluke members 14 and 16 and the shank 12 to effect proper positioning of the flukes. More particularly, the outer end of the legs of the base member 10 are cut away on the inside of the legs by an amount corresponding to the arm portion 38 which extends from the lower portion of the fluke members 14 and 16. Accordingly, the inner surface of the fluke member and its projecting arm 38 is substantially parallel with the inner surface of the leg of the base member 10.

Each fluke arm 38 is provided with an elongated slot 40 extending substantially the length of the arm. A pair of pins 42 are received one in each slot 40 for reciprocal movement therein. Each pin has its inner end secured to a leg 18 or 20 of the shank member 12. Thus, it is apparent that the pin and slot arrangement 40, 42 provides a lost motion pivotal connection between the shank and the flukes. The lost motion connection is necessary since both the shank and the flukes are pivoted to the base member for arcuate movement and pivotal movement of the shank with respect to the flukes is impossible without such lost motion.

Operation of first embodiment In operation, the anchor is dropped from the boat and settles to the sea bottom in initially a flat position. The anchor is designed so that no matter whether the anchor flops to one side or the other the operation will be identical (it being noted that each of the parts on one side is identical to the other side of such part).

Then, as a force is applied to the anchor line, one end of the shank 12 is lifted from its one plane position with the other parts. This upward movement of the anchor line shank end causes pivotal movement of the shank with respect to the base member about pivot pins 30 and thus forces the scoop end of the shank downwardly so that the teeth 26 dig into the sea bottom.

Simultaneously, with such digging action of the shank scoop, the pivot pins 42 intermediate the shank ends slide in the slots 40 of the fluke arms and pivot with respect thereto to effect upward movement of the fluke arms thus directing the flukes downwardly so that the pointed ends pierce the sea bottom.

It is now apparent that a dual digging action occurs. On the one hand, the shank scoop end digs into the sea bottom while on the other hand the flukes themselves dig into the ground and such combination positively insures a holding force on the anchor line.

Furthermore, since the base 10 is of U-shaped configuration, as the digging action of the shank scoop takes place, dug sea bottom is forced against the inner wall 28 of the base member to further resist movement. Additionally, with continued force on the anchor line and the shank scoop having pierced the sea bottom, the U-shaped base 10 sinks somewhat into the hole dug in the sea bottom. Accordingly, a continued force on the anchor line, in effect, further forces the entire anchor into the sea bottom.

To release the anchor, the anchor line is moved to a position perpendicular to the sea bottom. This movement causes the shank to pivot with respect to the sea bottom about the shank scoop end. Such movement causes pins 42 to move to the end of slots 40 in the flukes and continued movement toward the vertical position will withdraw the fiukes from the sea bottom permitting easy withdrawal of the anchor. Then, the anchor is lifted vertically. Upon such vertical movement with the weight of the anchor being concentrated on the base of the U of the base member 10 the entire anchor pivots to a closed one plane position (as shown in FIG. 2) so that projections do not damage the boat upon withdrawal of the anchor and the anchor itself lies fiat in the bottom of the boat when withdrawn.

Second embodiment The second embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 4-6. This second embodiment is a construction more likely to be used with heavier vessels. The basic parts: the base 41,.

the shank 43, and a pair of fluke members 44 and 46, and the functions thereof are similar to those of the first embodiment. The base member 41 is of generally U-shaped construction and comprises leg portions 48 and 50 having an enlarged base section 52 integrally secured to one end of the legs. The other end of the legs are provided with enlarged attaching sections 54 and 56.

The shank 43 has elongated arms 58 and 60 which extend substantially parallel to the legs 48 and 50 of the base member 41. The ends of the arms 58 and 60 are integrally joined by a scoop-like digging means 62. Similar to the base section 52 of base member 41, the scoop-like digging means 62 is of much greater depth than the arms 58 and 60 and thus is a more effective means of holding the anchor with respect to the sea bottom. To this end, the scoop-like digging means 62 is provided with the plurality of teeth 64 on both the upper and lower surfaces thereof.

The other end of the arms 58 and 60 are curved inwardly and meet each other at a point wherein an anchor cable attaching lug 66 is secured. The lug 66 is apertured and receives the anchor cable 68.

The shank is adapted to pivot so that the scoop-like digging means swings in an are within the U-shaped base member 41 and is housed within the same when the shank and the base are positioned in a single plane. To effect such a pivotal mounting, a pair of pins 70 extend through the legs 48 and 50 of the base member 41 adjacent the attaching sections 54 and 56 and through small spacer plates 72 and into the arms 58 and 60 of the shank member 43 inter-mediate the ends thereof. The pins are secured against axial movement by any suitable means and the arms of the shank are provided with apertures slightly larger than the pins to facilitate pivotal movement of the shank.

The flukes 44 and 46 are also attached to the base member 41 for pivotal movement with respect thereto. More particularly, the flukes are elongated members with one end pointedand thus capable of piercing the sea bot tom while the other ends are notched to receive U-shaped mounting members 74. The mounting members are secured in the fluke notches by any suitable means such as welding. The attaching sections 54 and 56 of the base member are positioned within the slot of the U-shaped mounting members 74 and pins 76 extend between the legs of the mounting members 74 and through appropriately sized apertures in the attaching sections 54 and 56. The pins 76 are similarly secured against axial movement by any suitable means, Acc0rdingly, both the flukes 44 and 46 and the shank 43 are pivotally mounted with respect to the base member 41.

Additionally, an operative connection is provided between the fluke members and the shank so as to direct the positioning of the flukes. More particularly, the mounting members 74 are provided with elongated slots 78 in the inner leg thereof. Pins 80 are fixedly secured to the leg portions 48 and 50 of the shank member and extend into the elongated slots 78 for lost motion reciprocal movement while also permitting pivotal movement between the flukes and the shank member.

Operation of the second embodiment The operation of the second embodiment is similar to the operation of the first embodiment. When the anchor is dropped from the boat and it settles to the sea bottom either on one side or the other and a force is applied to the anchor line, one end of the shank 43 is lifted from its one plane position with the other parts. This movement of the shank causes pivotal movement with respect to the base member 41 about pivot pins 70 and thus forces the scoop end of the shank downwardly so that the teeth 64 dig into the sea bottom.

Simultaneously, with such digging action of the shank scoop, the pivot pins 80 move in slots 78 of the mounting member 74 for the flukes 44 and 46 and pivot with respect thereto thus directing the fiukes downwardly into the sea bottom. Accordingly, a dual action is provided by the shank scoop and the flukes.

Furthermore, since the base 41 is of U-shaped configuration, as the digging action of the shank scoop takes place, the anchor moves slightly horizontally and the base sinks somewhat into the hole dug by the scoop to further hold the anchor against movement. While this is taking place, sea bottom disturbed by the shank scoop is forced against the base member 41 which is enlarged in depth to catch the same. Thus, as the force on the anchor l ne increases the anchor tends to sink deeper into the sea bottom at the base end as well as at the fluke end where the shank forces the fiukes downwardly.

The anchor of the second embodiment is released similar to the anchor of the first embodiment by positioning the line Wertically above the anchor. This causes the anchor to pivot about its scoop end and withdraws the fiukes from the sea bottom so that further vertical lifting of the line will remove the entire anchor from the sea bottom. With the weight being concentrated at the base of the anchor, the anchor tends to pivot to its closed one plane position as it is vertically lifted. Accordingly, since the anchor scoop is housed within the base member there are no projections to damage the boat upon lifting the anchor into the boat. Furthermore, the anchor lies relatively flat in the boat.

While two embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it is readily apparent that there may be many changes in structure and operation without departing from the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An anchor comprising (a) a base member;

(b) a shank member;

(i) adapted to have one end attached to an anchor line;

(0) fluke means associated with said base member;

(d) scoop means on the other end of said shank member;

(e) said shank member being pivoted to said base member whereby upon upward movement of said one end of said shank member said scoop means and said fluke member dig into the sea bottom.

2. The anchor of claim 1 wherein said shank member is an elongated member and is pivoted to said base mem ber adjacent said other end of the shank member.

3'. The anchor of claim 1 wherein said shank member is housed within said base member and said fluke means is carried by said base member.

4. The anchor of claim 1 wherein said base member is a U-shaped member and said shank member is pivotally mounted thereto within said U-shape so that sea bottom is forced against said base member to further restrain movement of the anchor.

5. The anchor of claim 1 wherein said fluke means is pivotally carried by said base member and is operatively connected to said shank member whereby pivotal movement of said shank member with respect to said base member pivots said fluke means with respect to said base member.

6. The anchor of claim 5 wherein one of said connections between said base, shank and fiukes is a lost motion connection.

7. The anchor of claim 5 wherein said operative connection between said fluke means and said shank means is a lost motion pivotal connection.

8. The anchor of claim 5 wherein said base member is a U-shaped member and said shank member is an elongated member pivoted within said base member adjacent the scoop end of said shank.

9. The anchor of claim 8 wherein said fluke means comprises a fluke member pivotally secured to each of the legs of said U-shaped base member and said shank member extends between said fluke members and is pivotally connected to each.

10. The anchor of claim 9 wherein said base member is heavier than said shank member and fluke members whereby the anchor pivots to a closed single plane position upon raising of the anchor and wherein said anchor is substantially symmetrical so that the anchor will be equally operative whether it initially rests on the sea bottom on one side or the other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,053,838 9/1936 Lundin 114-208 2,959,145 11/1960 Galloway 1 14-208 3,270,704 9/ 1966 Ekberg ll4208 TRYGVE M. BLlX, Primary Examiner 

